Unequal opportunities spur riots

From our friends at the AP:

The violence has escalated from an outburst of anger in suburban Paris housing projects into a nationwide show of disdain for French authority from youths and minorities, most French-born children of Arab and black Africans angered by years of unequal opportunities.

French President Vows to Restore Order

"Unequal opportunities"

We've heard that before. The thing is, in France, it's actually accurate. Immigrants on public assistance in France must live where the government mandates. It's not like here in America where poor Mexicans in California can pack up, drive for a couple days, and be glad of hard work in New Orleans. In America, if you find Albany to be devoid of jobs, you can move to Tucson and try to find something there.

In France, you're trapped in a desitute neighborhood, confined to quarters, in essence. I think maybe I'd pick up a petrol bomb myself in such circumstances.

UPDATE: Mark Steyn adds:

"If you had millions of seething unassimilated Muslim youths in lawless suburbs ringing every major city, would you be so eager to send your troops into an Arab country fighting alongside the Americans? For half a decade, French Arabs have been carrying on a low-level intifada against synagogues, kosher butchers, Jewish schools, etc. The concern of the political class has been to prevent the spread of these attacks to targets of more, ah, general interest. They seem to have lost that battle."

The whole piece is worth reading.

I take positively no joy whatsoever at what is happening to France, as I know it will mestastasize into pan-European "unrest" in due time. I think that's bad for everyone.

At the same time, it's now clear that the Surrender Monkey assessment of France was all wrong - they declined to participate in Iraq NOT because they were cowardly but because they were doing big business there, and because what we are seeing now would have been ignited immediately had they help invade Iraq. I don't really blame them for either; what entralls me is how there are still Leftists in America who think Chirac's objections were steeped in adherence to international law or some other high-minded humanistic ideal.